Soldiers run 1,500 km across whole of Ukraine to support brothers-in-arms' recovery

Two servicemen from the 15th Black Forest Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade, Ivan Huliak and Serhii Pankevych, are running UltraUkraine, a charity ultramarathon covering more than 1,500 km.

Source: the UltraUkraine team, speaking to Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia (Life)

Details: Soldier, activist and traveller Ivan Huliak joined the Black Forest Brigade in 2024 and now serves as a physical training instructor. 

Serhii Pankevych has been with the Armed Forces since 2016 and currently leads physical training for the brigade.

Both are deeply involved in sport – Serhii is a former professional athlete, while Ivan is a dedicated amateur who has spent years promoting running culture in Ukraine. 

Serhii had the idea of organising and running a 1,500-km ultramarathon from one end of Ukraine to the other – from Drohobych in Lviv Oblast to Donetsk Oblast – and Ivan was keen to join in.

Their goal is to raise over UAH 7 million (about US$167,000) to build a rehabilitation gym for their brigade. This facility will support injury recovery, provide regular training, help prevent occupational injuries and PTSD, and foster team spirit and endurance.

"At first, as head of physical training, I thought we needed a proper rehabilitation gym. We contacted some companies for estimates, and the projected cost was around 7 million," says Serhii. "Our brigade just doesn’t have that kind of money right now. But the need to help our wounded brothers-in-arms keeps growing."

The runners cover 50 km daily, running for about four and a half hours, followed by rest, a massage, and sleep.

"There are three of us on the team: the two runners and a massage therapist/rehabilitation specialist. In each city, we talk to local people, grab some coffee, sometimes hold press conferences – and then we run on," says Ivan.

The ultramarathon started on 25 July in Drohobych, the brigade’s permanent base. The finish line will be near the Donetsk Oblast entrance sign outside the city of Pokrovsk. The route passes through major Ukrainian cities such as Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Bila Tserkva, Kyiv, Cherkasy and Dnipro.

As of 1 August, Ivan and Serhii have covered 350 km. They aim to finish the entire route in 30-35 days.

Anyone can take part in the race. Runners – whether amateur or professional – can register on the UltraUkraine website and run any portion of the route alongside the servicemen.

You can follow their journey on the UltraUkraine pages on Facebook and Instagram.

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